COVID-19: Military Command withdraws soldier to barracks for alleged assault

The Ghana Armed Forces on Wednesday said it has withdrawn the soldier who allegedly assaulted a civilian back to the barracks while investigation is underway.

Brigadier General A.Y. Nsiah, General Officer Commanding Headquarters, Southern Command, Kpeshie, speaking at a media briefing in Accra, on enhanced measures put in place to enforce the restriction of movements, said the videos circulating on the social media of mass brutality of civilians by soldiers was false.

He said out of the 1,000 soldiers deployed in four Forward Operating Bases, only one infraction has been recorded, and the soldier in question has been withdrawn.

He said the Head of the Legal Department of the Ghana Armed Forces has educated the soldiers on the rules of engagement and they are being adhered to by the men in uniform.

Brigadier General Nsiah said the soldiers were well trained and professional and would never brutalise civilians without any cause.

He said generally, the residents in the lockdown areas have complied with the President’s ‘Stay at Home’ directive and urged them to continue cooperating with the COVID-19 Security Task Force to ensure the maintenance of law and order.

He said the enforcement of the restriction of movements in COVID-19 ‘hotspots’ was in the public interest to prevent community spread of the virus.

So far, Ghana has confirmed 195 COVID-19 positive cases after testing 4,560 suspected cases, with three persons fully recovered and five deaths.

All the measures government has taken is intended to achieve five strategic objectives: Limit and stop the importation of the Coronavirus; contain the spread of the virus; provide adequate care to the sick; limit the impact of the virus on social and economic lives; and inspire the expansion of domestic capability and deepen the country’s self-reliance.